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Saudi Arabia intercepts new missile fired from Yemen

Debris from the missile landed in residential areas of Jizan, but without causing casualties

(ARASH KHAMOUSHI/AFP/GettyImages - for illustrative purposes only)

By AFP

Mon 21 May 2018 02:22 PM

Saudi air defences on Monday intercepted a ballistic missile over southern city Jizan fired from rebel-held territory in neighbouring Yemen, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said.

Debris from the missile landed in residential areas of Jizan, but without causing casualties, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Yemen's Iran-allied Huthi rebels have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition against them.

Two rebel missiles targeted the southern city of Khamis Mushait on Saturday, according to Maliki. One missile was intercepted and destroyed by Saudi forces, while the other crashed in an unpopulated desert area, he said.

Saudi Arabia earlier this month tested a new siren system for the capital Riyadh and the oil-rich Eastern Province, in a sign of the increased challenge posed by the rebels' armaments.